


Sounds

by adstrum



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Gen, Tags Are Hard, mentions of others - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 18:51:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9455783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adstrum/pseuds/adstrum
Summary: By the time he is five, Leo knows the others in the clan do not like him or his sister.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I had this unfinished for a little over a week and I finally decided to finish it today, which is probably why the ending might seem a little awkward. Some of the story is based off of what actually happens in the plot, but it doesn't happen the same way because some people have different backstories and slightly different personalities. Miscellaneous notes in this AU that I didn't include in the story are at the bottom, if anyone is interested.

By the time he is five, Leo knows the others in the clan do not like him or his sister. He hears whispers that make his ears hurt, filled with emotions he doesn’t like. He doesn’t like when he hears things about his hair, his eyes, and how his mom shouldn’t have married his dad. He doesn’t get why his hair and eyes were so bad. No one else in the clan has those colorings, but they were just colors. It doesn’t make sense.

At age nine, Leo understands why the clan hates him and his sister. _Silver hair, blue eyes_. Those are the traits they should have had. Not orange hair, green eyes. All the other clan members have some variation of those traits. Silver hair, teal eyes. Black hair, blue eyes. No one had orange hair, green eyes. _A sign of strength_ , he hears someone whisper. It has been nine years since he was born, and they still whisper about him while he was around. Leo doesn’t like the feelings he hears when people whispered about him.

A year later, a few kids began to bully his sister. They called her names. _Useless, stupid, failure_. Leo doesn’t like it. He tries to yell at them, but he gets in trouble instead. _Serves you right,_ he hears the feelings of one of the kids when he gets yelled at. When the adults leave, another kid throws a rock at him and runs away with the other kids. Leo stares after them. He stands there and stares, until the sun fell above him and the stars woke up. He stares at the sky, his mind blank, until he saw a shooting star. _If you say a wish three times before a shooting star disappears, your wish will come true,_ he remembers his mom saying. He wishes to prove the clan wrong. He wants to become the strongest in the clan, to prove that his orange hair and green eyes aren’t measures of his strength. (He ignores the fact that the shooting star is long gone by the time he finishes saying his wish three times.)

He is eleven when he finally meets someone with _silver hair, blue eyes_. The boy is his age, and has already been named the next head of the clan. His name is Izumi Sena, and he can manipulate water. Leo finds him interesting. The next clan head seems to find him annoying, from what he can hear, but he doesn’t blame him. He and his sister are hated, and to Leo, it’s more of a surprise that Sena tolerates him. The encounter is brief, and Leo is sure he will never see Sena again.

He is almost twelve when he discovers his specialty. A traveling magician, examining Sena, sees Leo and runs over to him. Leo is surprised. The clan is angry. The magician has abandoned their next clan head for a failure who surely cannot use any magic. One of the clan members who hate Leo the most marches after the magician, demanding that he leave the orange haired boy alone. Leo does not like the intense emotions he is exposed to, and shuts his eyes tight, holding his hands over his ears. He wants the emotions to go away. When he opens his eyes, he sees the clan member bleeding from one of his ears. There is silence, until the magician looks at the orange haired boy and tells him that he has probably deafened that ear forever. Leo is uncomfortable. The rest of the clan seems to hate him more, but no one will say anything. The magician asks if he can take Leo and Sena and enroll them into his school. He is allowed to, because they want the next clan head to be stronger, and they want Leo out of the village.

Leo, 12 years old, has left the village for the first time. It is not the first time for Sena, and definitely not the first time for the magician. It is...different, Leo understands. He never liked to read, and the clan didn’t like him. He never learned much about life outside of the village. A small, energetic tune hums in his mind, and he ignores the looks he gets from the two he is traveling with. He is too overwhelmed by everything he sees to care. But he doesn’t dislike it.

He goes to his first class early. Sena was sleeping when he left their dorm room, and Leo briefly wonders if he is still sleeping. He sits down near the huge windows. There is another hum in his mind, this time it is soothing. He plays with his hands, waiting for time to pass. Students trickle in, giving him a weird look as they go to sit down. Leo doesn’t mind; he has received worse. The _black haired_ boy that sits behind him promptly falls asleep. Sena comes in, ten minutes before class starts, and sits next to Leo.

“Why are you always playing music?” Sena asks him, speaking to him for the first time since they left the village. Leo hears curiosity in his voice. He hears none of the animosity the rest of the clan has. But Leo is confused.

“Music?” his question earns him a look. But he truly doesn’t understand, and Sena seems to slowly realize this.

“You...ever since we left, there’s been music coming from you. Like, magic, I guess,” he grumbles. Leo hears mild irritation, but it is almost completely hidden by the curiosity. And then Leo realizes; the humming in his mind is not in his mind at all. He stutters for a few moments, somewhat panicked. He doesn’t know how to stop the music. Had he been annoying Sena and the magician the whole trip? His mouth shuts when a person who is obviously an adult enters the room. When the adult asks Leo why he has music playing, Leo energetically responds he has no idea how to stop it. He tries to ignore the hurt feeling he feels from Sena.

It is four months into his first year that he finally talks to the black haired boy sitting behind him. His name is Ritsu Sakuma, and he is half vampire. He likes to sleep a lot during the day, and he has an older brother. His brother is a year older than they are. He apparently practices black magic, but Leo doesn’t know exactly what that means. Rittsu tells him he likes it when Leo’s music is calm enough to put him to sleep, which isn’t saying much. He also tells him he doesn’t like it when Leo’s music is annoying. He doesn’t say anything more than that. Leo doesn’t know exactly what qualifies as annoying, but he tries to keep the humming soft. He hopes that he and Rittsu can be friends.

Leo is in the last month of his first year when they announce a new program. Upperclassmen sign up to become “buddies” with a new student, to help them with anything they can. Leo thinks it might be a good way to make a new friend. He signs up, and forgets about it the next day.

At 13 years old, Leo is the buddy of a first year named Arashi Narukami. He wears fake glasses and has his hair dyed light brown, but he’s actually _blond_. He has _blue eyes_ , and talks kind of like how some of the girls in Leo’s class do. He can do stuff with storms. He didn’t really talk about it too much, and Leo doesn’t care too much to ask for more information. Magic is weird in that way; you may know what you’re good with at first, but it’s never easy to tell exactly what your specialty is. Naru is pretty and he knows it, and he calls himself a girl at heart. When Naru first saw him, he said Leo looked like a king. Leo didn’t like it, and Naru now calls him “Leo-sama” as a joke. Overall, Leo thinks Naru is a good guy.

Leo thinks he hears Naru suffering, but he doesn’t know why. He wonders about it, until he hears one of Naru’s classmates calling him _gross and disgusting, likes guys_. Leo doesn’t like it. He thinks Naru’s preferences are none of their business, and tells them off. He gets in trouble, but he doesn’t care. Naru calls him a king who protects his subjects. Leo complains, and now Naru calls him “Ou-sama” to bother him even more.

His second year in school flies by. He and Naru are good friends, and Rittsu sometimes decides to wake up and talk. Sena and Leo have barely talked, despite sharing a room. Leo doesn’t expect anything different. Sena is the next clan head, and he is a village outcast. His third year begins, and Naru is now the buddy to some _red haired_ kid. Leo only vaguely remembers him; he doesn’t really pay attention when Naru introduces them. What he does (partly) pay attention to is the start of actual magic classes. The first two years, no actual magic is taught. But during the middle of the third year, magic classes begin.

After months of not paying attention in class, Leo is 14, and finally learning how to use magic. He is disappointed when his first class is just everyone telling each other what they know. Leo only knows that his music, known by everyone around him, is a result of his magic, and that he has deafened a person’s ear before. The second class is not much better. Nor is the third, fourth or fifth. But the sixth class is when it finally becomes interesting. The sixth class, they are measuring their magical abilities. One by one, they go up and touch a crystal ball. There is only one in the class because they are hard to get a hold of, and the school decided having a few was enough. The crystal ball, when touched, glows a certain color to signify magical potential. Magical potential is just the potential the person can reach. It’s not definite that it will limit or guarantee powers to a person, but it just is a way to sort them by how much attention they may need. The colors are the rainbow, but the level of power starts at purple. Red, the most powerful, means dangerous. Reds are usually closely watched. It would be bad if they turned to evil deeds. Pink is also used, even though it isn’t part of the rainbow. Pink is powerful, but not as dangerous as red. Sometimes, people have the same magical power as red, but get pink because of their ability or their personality. Sena’s is red, as expected. Rittsu’s is pink. There are a few others in their class with pink, and maybe one other with red, but not many. The class is fairly big, too. When it is finally Leo’s turn, he doesn’t expect anything higher than a green, although he hopes (he wishes) it will be higher. He is alarmed when the crystal ball glows a bright red. Too bright. He goes to sit back down, drowning in whispers. He zeros in on Rittsu’s emotions, desperately trying to avoid Sena’s. He hopes the feeling he hears isn’t from Sena, but he doesn’t check.

Leo is 15 and excited. His sister is finally coming to the same school. He has learned basic wind magic in his third year; the easiest to learn because he is exposed to air constantly. However, because of his knowledge of wind magic, and no knowledge of how to stop the music he produces, his music sometimes travels farther. He greets his sister with a huge hug. He hears her surprise from this music, and remembers that he only began to emit sounds after he left the village. He introduces her to Rittsu and Naru, and tells her to ask him or either of them if she needs help with her work. Leo walks her to her first class, which is before his, because the new year always starts a few days before anyone else. He hopes she makes some friends who can help her when he can’t.

The fourth year is when students join groups. Groups participate in magical contests together, among other things. It’s not required to join a group, nor is it required to have more than one member in a group, but the maximum is five per group. Leo thinks he should make his own group and wait for Naru and Rittsu, who is taking third year again because he slept too much. So he does exactly that, with his group _Knights_ , waiting for his own knights to catch up.

It is in their dorm that Leo impulsively asks Sena to join his group. Sena is practicing turning his water into ice, and Leo can’t help but admire it. He blurts out the question, and only after does he realize he is being informal to his future clan leader. He begins to apologize, when Sena mutters something. _Okay_ , he hears, and he knows he has only heard it because of his magic. He thinks Sena didn’t mean for him to hear it, but he doesn’t care and shoves the paper to sign his name in his face. Knights then becomes a duo; Leo and Sena.

Two months after Sena joins him and they have already won two competitions. Competitions are usually mock fights, and while it isn’t unusual for people to win a few competitions since there are so many, it is the fact that they are both fourth years, having barely taken any _real_ magic classes, that attracts everyone’s attention. The fact that both of them are reds only draws more attention. Sometimes Leo wonders if the clan knows, and if they do, do they know that it isn’t Sena who is the “leader” of their duo, but Leo? He hopes they don’t know. He gets his answer after another week, after a third competition won. He receives a letter from some of the clan elders, and he knows none of them like him. The letter, while written politely, is a reminder to Leo to _know his place_ , that he is _less than Sena, less than them_. Leo is too absorbed in the letter that he only notices Sena when the letter is ripped from his hands. Sena tears the paper into pieces and throws it away. Leo gives him a grateful smile.

Half of year four’s magic classes is dedicated to learning basic earth, nature and water magic. Earth and nature magic weren’t very different, but some people still call them two different things for reasons Leo never cared for. Leo finds earth and nature magic somewhat easy, and Sena obviously excels with water magic. Leo thinks the magic classes are too slow, but he doesn’t ever say it out loud because he _knows_ they speed up during the middle of the year to the point where it’s almost _too_ overwhelming. The second half of year four’s magic classes are basic fire magic and intermediate of all four basic elements. And there’s also specialties, where students finally get to learn how to control whatever they have an aptitude for. And there are more theories to learn. And the list goes on, and on, and on, and Leo tells himself to enjoy the slow classes while he can, before he gets flooded with information.

Leo’s fourth year is also when he meets (and remembers) more people. There is Rei Sakuma, Rittsu’s older brother who went on a trip somewhere for a year and is now repeating a year. There is also Shu Itsuki, whose (artistic) values differ from Leo’s so much that they tend to get into heated arguments often. But Leo doesn’t dislike it. Rather, he enjoys the arguments, and thinks that the two of them are friends. There is also Nazuna Nito, Kuro Kiryu, Wataru Hibiki, Keito Hasumi, and a lot more. But the one who stands out the most is probably Eichi Tenshouin. The heir to a particularly powerful noble family. Apparently, he is physically weak because of a sickness that ails the Tenshouin family, but his magical power is anything but weak. He stands out because Leo can hear the pain whenever he talks. Leo will never admit it, but he is somewhat frightened by Eichi Tenshouin; the Emperor. While his life is short, he has high expectations placed on his shoulders. Even then, he has not only met those expectations, but risen far, far above. And that terrifies Leo.

Leo wraps up his fourth year with many wins in competitions. He and Sena are fairly well known, and when Leo learned how to stop emitting music, many people commented that he should continue. Leo enjoys the praises people sing to his sounds, and doesn’t stop. Sometimes, he even does tricks with his sounds. He can manipulate them to become visible as sheet music, a little something he figured out using a combination of wind and light magic. While light magic wasn’t taught in classes until fifth year, Leo learned from observation in competitions. Leo loves the positive emotions that are directed at him. Some time during the year, he forgot how to hear negative songs.

Leo is 16, and starts his fifth year strong. His group, Knights, has grown to have four members now that Naru and Rittsu are fourth years. Knights now has two reds and two pinks; a powerhouse. Knights wins the first competitions of the year, and Leo feels strong. He feels like nothing can hurt him. The competitions were fairly easy before, and now they’re only easier with the new additions. Leo feels _invincible_. (The concerned looks from the rest of his groupmates confuse him, but he ignores them.)

Leo’s fifth year is when he challenges Eichi Tenshouin to a group duel. The Emperor has recently destroyed what he calls _the three oddballs_ , and Leo thinks there’s no better time to prove Knights’ power than now. The duel begins two months into the school year. Leo is certain he can beat _fine_.

Eichi Tenshouin humiliates him. Saying Leo is destroyed in battle is an understatement. Leo suddenly understands the _looks_. Instead of only hearing the positive, warm feelings from everyone around him, all he hears is cold. He knows he is imagining some of the sounds, but he feels overwhelmed. He locks himself in his room. His sister is the only one who he has seen. He refuses to talk to Sena, or anyone, really. Leo wonders if the world always sounded so cold and scary. Maybe he should have never wished on that shooting star.

Leo doesn’t exit his room in his fifth year. His sixth year starts the same. Leo wonders why _Rittsu_ was held back, but not him. He doesn’t think about it for long, although his mind sometimes wanders to it. Leo also wonders how long it has been since he last had a proper conversation with a real person. He doesn’t see his sister often because she has her own studies to attend to, and Leo occasionally hears his group trying to talk to him. They have been coming less frequently, and he thinks it’s because of the new member they have. He remembers Sena coming to him and telling him to sign the papers, and he vaguely remembers being told that the new member was Naru’s buddy. Leo doesn’t really care.

Leo is lured by the sounds he hears passing by. He is unable to hear happy noises, but he knows they aren’t sad. It’s...surprise, he thinks. None of the emotions are strong enough for him to know the specific reason, nor is he close enough to perhaps get a glimpse of what has surprised so many people. He wonders, but he doesn’t leave the room. He gets his answer soon enough, when Sena tells him a group of fifth years has _overthrown_ fine. The world suddenly seems a little quieter.

It takes another month after _Trickstar_ has beaten fine for Leo to leave the comfort of his room. He still hears more negativity, but he is aware that his own negative thoughts have left the whispers that touch his ears. It feels weird to be exposed to society again, but Leo doesn’t want to hide any more. He is, after all, a _king_ . Perhaps a king stripped of his castle and crown, but he is still the _leader_ of his group.

(He wonders if it is too late to put the crown back on his head, but he hears his four knights loud and clear.)

**Author's Note:**

> Leo and Ruka's mother has slightly above average magic, while their father is so bad to the point where it's probably okay to say that he can't use magic. Their father is an orphan, but his parents were fairly powerful. Their powerful magic happened to skip a generation.  
> Leo's magic enhances his hearing, but no one knows because he assumed it was normal until he one day realized it wasn't. He can hear the emotions in people's voices, and later he can feel the emotions themselves. He can even "read" people's minds when their emotions are strong enough, although it's more of a guess. He doesn't know the exact words, but the emotions give him a fairly big hint as to what the person is thinking.  
> Leo is somewhat afraid of Izumi at first, which is why he is so hesitant and nervous around him. Of course, later on he realizes Izumi =/= most people in the clan.  
> I had more headcanons and then I forgot them.


End file.
